


Illusion designer

by UltraKart



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fox Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Fox Miraculous, Ladynoir | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25753435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UltraKart/pseuds/UltraKart
Summary: Marinette experiments with the Fox Miraculous to help make her designs become a reality. Chat Noir drops by for an unexpected visit at the same time, and now Marinette has to pretend that she's the newest recruit on the hero team.Glorious identity shenanigans follows, of course.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 22
Kudos: 73





	1. The Dress

**Author's Note:**

> I figured Marinette would make use of some of the kwamis instead of leaving them in the box all the time. For the little things.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette uses the Fox Miraculous to help with making a new dress. Chat Noir approves!

Marinette had an incredibly sharp mind's eye. She had trained it with years of sketching designs and imagining herself wearing them.

Her latest idea, however, was becoming a little difficult to mentally wear. It was more intricate than most of her previous works, _and_ it was a full-blown prom dress. Envisioning all those little details in her head was a chore. (And poor Imagination-Marinette was having trouble reaching the zipper and pulling it all the way up)

Fortunately for Marinette, she had the tools at her disposal to make her imagination become a reality, if only for five minutes at a time. She had the Miraculous.

Specifically, she chose the Fox Miraculous to help her with this task.

"What do you think, Trixx?"

The tiny fox in question was examining Marinette's sketchbook. Trixx admired that she had an excellent eye for detail. The best illusion casters always did.

"I think it'll look great on you. I can't wait to see!"

"Alright then, _let's pounce!_ "

A flash of orange filled the room, and a new Fox hero emerged from the light.

Tikki watched from her spot on the shelf. It was always fascinating to see someone use a new Miraculous for the first time. The design of the super-suit is drawn from the subconscious, but the same subconscious will produce a different suit for each Miraculous.

Marinette gave herself a once-over when the light faded. Her body was mostly covered in orange, except for the white that ran down her torso and the black of her gloves, elbow pads, and knee-length boots. Her mask was also orange with a white accent outlining the edges. But she wasn't paying too much attention to her accessories. What was most striking was her hair.

Her hair, now a fiery orange instead of black, was done in a long braid instead of pigtails; the tip of the braid was white.

Other than the color, Marinette realized she looked a lot like Lady Noire.

Oh, and the fox ears added a good six inches to her overall height. She was _almost_ as tall as Chat Noir now.

"What do you think, Tikki?" Marinette asked.

Tikki flew in circles around Marinette to check out the new costume.

"Very cute! I like the hair." She nodded in approval.

Marinette gave her hair a flip. "It's so bright you can see me from space."

She picked up the braid in one hand and inspected it closer.

"Anyway, I'm not here to just admire my gorgeous hair. I have a dress to make."

She pulled the flute out from its holster on her back and pressed the mouthpiece to her lips.

Marinette had never learned to play the flute. The only wind instrument she'd ever touched was the recorder. But the powers of the Fox made playing the flute an instinct rather than a skill.

She played the appropriate notes for this particular illusion, and a glowing ball of orange energy formed at the end of the flute.

" _Mirage!_ "

The ball of energy separated from the flute, and Marinette caught it in her hand.

Starting at her hand, a ripple of orange glitter began spreading over her body. When the glitter faded, the super-suit (and super hair) were gone and Marinette was back in her regular form. But her pajamas were now replaced with a real-life version of the pink prom dress in her sketchbook.

" _Wow...!_ " both Marinette and Tikki said simultaneously.

Marinette's breath was taken away by her own reflection in the mirror. The dress was poofy, but not overwhelmingly so. The detailing was intricate but not _busy_.

She did a little twirl, and the way the dress _swished_ was incredibly pleasing.

"Damn, I'm good." Marinette put her fists on her hips and gave herself a satisfied smirk in the mirror.

She turned around to examine the back of the dress, and she noticed that the zipper wasn't quite pulled all the way up.

"Seriously?" Marinette stretched her arm to grab the zipper. Despite looking a lot like Lady Noire under the illusion, Marinette lacked the flexibility of a cat. She struggled a bit to finally reach the zipper.

When her fingers closed around it, the illusion began to flicker in that spot, revealing the orange super-suit beneath. She panicked and jerked back her hand. On instinct, she stuck her fingers in her mouth as if she was burned.

 _Right, it's not real,_ she reminded herself. She looked cross-eyed down at the hand in her mouth. _Do these illusions have to be so fragile?_ Her hand flopped to her side.

"Hey Tikki, can you take some pictures? They would make great references for when I make this for real."

Tikki giggled. "I already did."

She was holding Marinette's phone in her little paws and pulled up a photo. Marinette saw herself with an unfortunate amount of her hand stuffed in her mouth.

"TIKKI!" Marinette blanched, then lunged for her phone, but Tikki easily dodged out of the way.

She lunged again and missed, and the two of them entered into an impromptu game of keep-away.

Their little game continued until Marinette bumped into her desk and the dress began to flicker again.

Marinette froze and scuttled backwards before the dress could vanish. She shook her head and let out a breath.

"Don't get distracted, Marinette..." she said to herself. "I have a job to do. Let's get some pictures before the illusion wears off."

* * *

After a quick photo shoot, the timer on the Miraculous was just about half expired.

Marinette would hate to see the dress go, but Trixx needed some rest. Disguising a moving target like a person was always more tiring for the kwami.

Satisfied that she got some good pictures, Marinette set down her phone and picked up the flute again and played a few notes.

" _Reali-!_ "

_thud_

Marinette was distracted by the sound of boots touching down on her roof.

"What-" She looked up at her skylight. "Oh. _Oh. Oh no ohhhhh...!_ "

It was an unwritten rule between herself and Chat Noir that an open skylight meant he was welcome to literally drop in whenever. Marinette forgot to close it tonight, meaning Chat Noir was seconds away from seeing her and her new dress and the Miracle Box that she had left out in the open.

Marinette chucked the flute to the corner of the room. She scooped up the Miracle Box (or the Miracle Egg, as Chat Noir liked to call it) in one arm, _bowled_ it into her closet, then kicked the door shut in one fluid motion. She spun around (ignoring the majestic swish of her dress) just in time to see Chat Noir stick the landing on her bed.

"Chat, hey!" She was out of breath from saying just two words.

Chat Noir held his pose on the bed for a few seconds longer before looking up.

"Marinette! ...woah."

He jumped down from the bunk bed, stuck the landing _again_ , then rose to examine Marinette's new look.

Marinette shrunk under his gaze. Ordinarily, she would tease him for being so awestruck, but now wasn't the appropriate time for that.

"Um... you like?" she offered instead.

Chat Noir gaped at her.

"Like it? Mari, you look _gorgeous._ "

"Eh heh... glad you think so..."

An awkward silence passed.

"So, um, Chat," she started. "I'm sorry but now really isn't a good time."

His cat ears and tail instantly wilted.

"But it's been a full week since we've seen each other!" he whined.

Marinette really didn't want to turn him down, but tonight was a special circumstance.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave my window open tonight. But I'm free all day tomorrow!"

He circled around to her back at this point, so Marinette had to maneuver around him to place both her hands on _his_ back and started pushing him towards the stairs leading up to the bunk bed.

"Come tomorrow, okay?" she said.

Chat Noir crossed his arms and pretended to think about her offer.

"Fine, fine. I'll be back later. Oh, but before I go!"

He stopped walking in the direction she was pushing him in.

"Your zipper isn't all the way up. Let me fix that."

Chat Noir faced her and reached over her shoulder. He felt around for the zipper, the illusion flickering wherever he touched her back. His tongue stuck out in a _blep_ as he searched for it.

Marinette was frozen, unsure what to say to him without making him suspicious of her. She watched in stunned horror as his hand probed her backside.

Chat Noir took a step forward and leaned over her shoulder to properly see what he was looking for.

"Aha! Found it."

His claws closed around the zipper, and the entire dress gave a flicker, then a fizzle, and then finally vanished in a puff of magical orange smoke.

Chat Noir stumbled backwards. His head craned up and down to take in the sight of the bright orange Fox with flaming red hair in front of him.

Marinette could only take a step back and offer him a nervous wave.

"Ah, uh... you like?"


	2. New(?) partner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette convinces Chat Noir that she's the new trainee on the team. Ladybug arranges to meet with him to outline her plan for "Vixenette".  
> Living a triple life is only 50% more lives to live, right?

Chat Noir had been silent for a solid ten seconds.

"Chat...?" Marinette, still transformed, reached out to touch his arm.

His eyes narrowed when she approached and he took a step back. Marinette noticed how his knees bent and his tail curled. Chat Noir was getting ready to pounce.

"Where's Marinette?" His voice was a low growl.

"Chat..." She frowned and tried to reach for him again, only to retract her arm when Chat Noir hissed at her.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with _another_ lying fox." He drew his staff from his belt and pointed it at her. "Where's Marinette."

Truthfully, Marinette couldn't blame Chat Noir for being so defensive. They'd both had bad experiences with a certain faux Fox, and he had no idea that Marinette held the Miracle Box. In his position, Marinette would probably react the exact same way.

"Look, I'm not an Akuma." Marinette held up her hands. "Trixx, let's rest."

Chat Noir tried not to look away from the flash of orange light, and when it faded he saw Marinette standing in front of him in her pajamas.

"Marinette...?" His grip on his staff loosened. He was stunned into silence again.

Marinette held a very drowsy Trixx cupped in her hand. She padded over to her desk and carefully slid him onto an unused pincushion that Tikki usually lounged on. She gave him a little pat on the head. "I'll grab some food for you in a bit."

She turned to face Chat Noir. "Yup, it's me. Surprise?"

Chat Noir almost relaxed his stance, but not all the way. Marinette realized he had yet to be convinced.

"Hold... hold on." His grip on his staff tightened again. "Tell me something that only Marinette would know."

Marinette crossed her arms and thought of what to say.

 _Alright, this should be pretty easy. Chat comes here a lot, and nobody knows that he comes here. He hasn't even told_ Ladybug _that he visits me, come to think of it._

Marinette gave Chat Noir a mischievous smile.

"Last month, I found you sprawled on your back on my rooftop. You had one of my catnip plants in your claws and were actively smooshing your face into it." She put her hands on her hips. "There, proof enough for you?"

She watched as Chat Noir's face turned noticeably red. His staff slipped through his hands and clattered on the floor.

 _Oh yeah_ , she thought. _Now he's convinced._

Several non-words came from Chat Noir's mouth before he remembered how to speak properly.

"Y-you should've warned me that you got catnip!"

"Oh my _god_ , Chat." She smacked her palm on her forehead. "We've been through this already. I got the plants that same day! Of course I couldn't have warned you."

"Yeah, but-!"

A loud yawn from Trixx interrupted Chat Noir before his rant could go anywhere.

His attention turned to the little fox, and he pinched the bridge of his nose as he refocused his thoughts.

"Right, um," he started. "Mari. Why do you have the Fox Miraculous?"

"Oh. That." Marinette rocked back and forth between her two feet as she hummed in thought.

There were a couple of options immediately available to her:

She could spill the beans completely and tell Chat Noir the truth. With just two words, he would learn why she so readily had such access to every Miraculous, where the Miracle Box was being kept, and who it was under Ladybug's mask.

The idea sent a chill through Marinette's spine. She was the Guardian now. She was _allowed_ to let that happen.

Then again, there was Chat Blanc to think about. Somehow, he knew her identity. Her corrupted partner had repeatedly called her "Marinette" during that fight. Bunnix had given her frustratingly few details about that timeline, but she got the impression that a premature identity reveal was one of the root causes of all the chaos.

 _No_ , Marinette decided. She promised a long time ago to be more inclusive of Chat Noir than Master Fu was, but she couldn't tell him absolutely everything. Not yet.

Instead, she would have to be as tricky as a fox to prevent revealing her identity right here and now.

"I'm... part of your team!" She gestured to herself with a flourish.

"Woah, really!?"

"Yeah...!"

Marinette studied Chat Noir's face. He looked both confused but also excited. He didn't look doubtful, which she took as a good thing.

Chat Noir was at a loss for words again. (Marinette seemed to be on a roll tonight for stunning him into silence)

"Welcome to the team," he finally said, then hesitated. "I mean, I guess? Ladybug never told me that she was recruiting anybody new." He looked at Marinette quizzically.

"Er, yeah." Marinette bounced on the balls of her feet. "It was actually kind of a spur of the moment decision? She said she would tell you about it during patrol tomorrow." Behind Marinette's back, she was crossing her fingers that Chat Noir would buy that explanation. Tomorrow was supposed to be a solo patrol for him, so she was hoping that he forgot about the "solo" part.

It was Chat Noir's turn to smack his face. "Riiiiight, I have a patrol tomorrow. But I wanted to hang out with you!" He pouted at the ground.

Marinette touched his arm, and this time he didn't recoil.

"It's okay. Ladybug has something important to discuss with you, so that's what's important."

Chat Noir looked up to meet her eyes.

"You sure?"

She nodded. "I'm sure."

They held each other's gaze for a few seconds longer, then Chat Noir put on one of his signature grins.

"Hey, I'm stoked that you're gonna be on our team, but to be honest I was hoping that Ladybug would bring you back as a mouse instead."

Marinette giggled. "Oh yeah? And why's that?"

"You know, sometimes this cat gets bored and needs a prey to chase." He winked.

She snorted and poked the bell on his collar. "In your dreams, kitty."

The two of them easily slipped into their usual banter. Chat Noir was especially giddy at the thought of Marinette fighting Akumas beside him. Despite his semi-frequent visits, he didn't really have a chance to _go_ anywhere with her. Now, he and Marinette could leap across the entirety of Paris together! He would be sure to take advantage of patrols with her to just sneak away and do something more fun. (Ladybug didn't need to know that he was already planning on slacking off during patrols to spend time with his favorite civilian-turned-superhero)

It was getting late, and as Chat Noir made to climb up and onto the roof, he paused to ask one more thing.

"I guess I shouldn't be calling you 'Marinette' when we're out in the field. What's your name, little fox?"

"I, um, did not think of that." She was actually stuck on this one. "Call me Vixen...ette?"

"Ooh, I like the sound of that!" He gave her a little salute. "Anyway, goodnight!" He leapt upwards, and the skylight flapped closed behind him.

* * *

Chat Noir had just slipped through the window of his room when he heard a buzz from his staff. It was a text from Ladybug.

_bug-A-👻: sorry for texting so late_

_bug-A-👻: can u come early to patrol tomorrow?_

_😺🖤: oh for FOX sake i was about to fall asleep_

_bug-A-👻: sorry! i just got done with_

_bug-A-👻: doing a Thing_

_bug-A-👻: so i couldnt transform_

_bug-A-👻: anyway this is important and i had to tell u now_

_😺🖤: no worries milady i can show up early tomorrow_

_😺🖤: sounds very impurrtant 😼_

_bug-A-👻: ._

_bug-A-👻: goodnight kitty_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Kaye (a friend on my Discord) for suggesting the name "Vixenette"!  
> She doesn't actually watch this show, but she listens to me ramble about it all the time. Kudos to you!


	3. Plan of action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette learns that the powers of the Fox go beyond making simple illusions, and Ladybug gives Chat Noir some answers.  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and lovely comments on this fic! I've been kinda stuck on it for a while, but I finally have enough ideas to squeak out a new chapter!  
> Please feel free to give suggestions on where this fic should go, because I'm not entirely sure myself.

Marinette crashed face-first onto her cat pillow and grabbed it in a tight embrace. She then violently flopped over to stare up at her skylight. "Tikki..." she whined. "Did I really just do that?"

Tikki floated up to her while Trixx remained lounging on the pincushion, munching on a cookie.

"To be honest, I'm not sure what _that_ was." Her little head tilted to the side. "Why didn't you just tell Chat Noir the truth? I already gave you by blessing to do so a long time ago."

"Well I..." She reached her hand upwards as if to grab something. "I'm not ready to reveal to Chat who I am."

"You're not ready to drop the secrets between you, but you _are_ ready to give yourself another superhero persona?"

Marinette didn't answer right away. Instead, she continued to stare into space. To her disappointment, her position and limited view from the skylight prevented her from seeing the moon.

"I did what I had to, Tikki." Her hand dropped back onto the bed. "Chat Blanc learned my name, then something so terrible happened to him that he got Akumatized. Some _awful_ stuff went down in that timeline and I can't even begin to guess how." She held her head in her arms. "There's so much I don't know and Bunnix isn't here to answer my questions!"

Tikki wordlessly floated into Marinette's field of vision and settled on her forehead.

"Shh, it's alright." She placed a calming paw on her face. "Believe me, Chat Noir could never become Akumatized because of _you._ He adores you! And that timeline is gone anyway."

Marinette released her head and let out a sigh.

"You're right..." She cupped her kwami to her cheek. "But I can't do it yet. That timeline might be gone, but I'm still worried. What if a similar thing happens in this timeline? The only thing I know for sure about that cursed timeline is that Chat found out who I am, so I'm _gonna_ prevent that one thing."

Marinette waited, hoping for a rebuttal from Tikki. But she simply shrugged.

"I guess I'll have to ask Fluff," she decided.

"Nah, you don't need that funny rabbit," Trixx spoke up from his spot on the desk. "She'll probably just tell you 'time is complicated' or whatever and not even give you a straight answer. Besides, you have me!" He zipped over and joined them on the bed. "Whatever you need, I'm your fox!" he declared with a proud posture.

Marinette gave him an appreciative smile and stroked his head with a finger.

"Alright, Trixx. Whatcha got?"

He cleared his throat. "Every good Fox should know this: reality yours to shape. If you're clever enough, your illusions can fool even the universe itself," he finished with a dramatic wave of his arms.

"I can do _what_ to the universe?"

"Fool! Deceive! Trick! Completely and utterly _bamboozle!_ " he exclaimed. "With the power of illusion and a sharp wit, anything is possible." He puffed out his little chest.

She blinked at the little fox in shock. "That actually sounds incredible."

"Don't believe everything this little trickster tells you," Tikki teased.

"Puh-lease..." Trixx rolled his eyes. "Everything I say about my powers is true! Did you know that _I'm_ the reason why people think a meteor took out the dinosaurs?"

"Nope!" Tikki pressed her paws to her ears. "I'm not hearing this!"

He snorted in response. "See, one of Plagg's Cataclysms wiped 'em all out. To this day he refuses to tell us why he did it, but whatever. He needed my help to convince everyone that it wasn't his fault, so I did him a solid and conjured a massive flaming meteor crater to cover up the hole in the ground from the Cataclysm. And it worked! None of the other kwamis suspected a THING! I think Tikki is still kinda mad about it though..."

She threw her paws up in the air in frustration. "You bet I am!"

He huffed at her. "Well excuse me if I was starting to get bored of seeing you chew out Plagg for the dumb stuff he does. It's only funny for the first few eons."

"Hey-!"

"Alright!" Marinette clapped her hands to get the attention of the two bickering gods. "Settle down, _children._ You can argue about ancient history later. Trixx?" She scooped him up. "What are you suggesting?"

"I say you should go through with your plan." He stood up in her palm. "If revealing Ladybug's identity will cause an apocalypse, then become someone else instead!"

"Huh. When you put it that way, I feel less terrible about my decision."

Trixx beamed up at her.

Tikki, however, wasn't fully convinced.

" _I say_ that recruiting yourself as a new hero is a unnecessary." She floated directly in front of Marinette's face. "Juggling your schedule is difficult enough as it is! And you're the Guardian now. Without Master Fu, Chat Noir needs you for guidance. An identity reveal would make all of that easier," she concluded.

Marinette considered the advice from both kwamis.

"I can pull it off," she said with resolve. "Chat and I already spend a couple times a week studying the spellbook together. And I can swap out some patrols with 'Vixenette'. Besides, as the Guardian shouldn't I have experience with every Miraculous?"

"I suppose..." Tikki conceded. "But please don't overwork yourself, Marinette."

Marinette nodded. "I'll figure out a way."

"Awesome!" Trixx did a little flip in the air. "Now for the last thing we need to take care of before Ladybug talks to Chat Noir tomorrow: the cover story for 'Vixenette'." He flashed a grin at her. "This is the fun part."

* * *

"Evening, kitty," Ladybug greeted as she touched down on the rooftop. "Glad you could come early."

Chat Noir flipped over from his laying position and stretched like a cat before standing up.

"Good evening, Bugaboo," he said with a yawn.

"Had a long day today?"

"No." He rubbed at his eye. "Just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Something keeping you up at night?"

"Oh, uh." He suppressed a cough with his fist. "No?"

"Some _one_ , then?" She gave him a knowing smirk.

His cat eyes narrowed to slits and his ears flattened to his scalp.

Ladybug was starting to love his characteristic stupefied face.

"I was up late doing... homework." He looked away.

"Mhm."

She watched him squirm for a few moments more before breaking out into a wide grin.

"Chat, relax!" She clapped him on the back. "It's okay. I know you were at Marinette's place. It's no big deal."

Her hand remained on his back, and she could feel some of the tension leave his shoulders.

"You aren't mad?" His cat ears perked up just a bit.

"No? Why would I be?" She was genuinely surprised at his question.

 _Was it something I did?_ she wondered.

When he didn't answer, she moved her hand to hold his arm and gestured for them to sit.

"Trust me, I'm not mad," she reassured him.

With some effort, he met her eyes before speaking.

"You see, I love spending time with Marinette, but I get this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I shouldn't be. The whole deal of a superhero getting close to a civilian, isn't it kinda clandestine?" His ears drooped again.

Ladybug pulled her knees in as she pondered his question.

"Maybe? Master Fu never really told us _not_ to. But hey." She bumped his shoulder. "Superheroes need friends too. And you're my co-Guardian, so I trust your judgement! Just keep it private, alright?"

Chat Noir flashed her a grateful smile.

"Thanks for being so understanding." His gaze settled on the horizon. "I never told this to you or her, but I'm actually pretty new to making friends. I'm still not sure what the 'right' way to be a good friend is, but being around Marinette makes me feel like I'm doing a good job at it. She makes time for me and listens to me in a way that very few other people do. She tells me that I only come back to her for the free food, but I insist that it's _more_ than that. I feel like I belong by her side."

He glanced at Ladybug and saw that her face had gone _red._

"O-Of course, I belong by _your_ side too!" he backpedaled. "We're partners! And you also make me feel wanted. Er, not 'wanted' in a bad way but..."

She blinked at him, then forcefully shook her head, sending her pigtails thumping against her scalp.

"I get what you mean, kitty. Marinette is the, _ahem_ , coolest," she said. "Speaking of, she's the reason why I called you early today. But I'm sure you already knew that."

"Yeah!" He pulled one of his legs in and rested his hands on his knee. "That was a big shock when I dropped by the bakery and found a fox in place of Marinette. I, uh, nearly attacked her before she revealed that she _is_ Marinette." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"But wow, you should have seen her transformed!" he continued. "Orange suits her well, and her hair was stunning! ...actually, her hair was done in this super long braid. She looked a lot like you when you were Lady Noire," he pointed out.

"Oh, really?" she said as she reached behind to touch her nonexistent braid. "Great minds think alike, I guess!" She sputtered out something that was a combination nervous laugh and a cough.

If Chat Noir noticed her cheeks getting red again, he didn't say anything.

"So!" he prompted after a pause. "What made you recruit Marinette again? I thought you were firm in your decision to not have her be a part of the team."

Ladybug pretended to think for an answer. Truthfully, she didn't need to think because she had already gone over what to say with Tikki and Trixx.

"There were a few reasons why I brought her back, but the primary reason is because she offered to help," she recited.

"She _asked_ to be on the team? Why didn't I hear about this?"

"Don't feel bad. This all happened yesterday. It's actually kind of embarrassing..." She mimicked Chat Noir's nervous tick of scratching his neck. "See, I was at her family's bakery to pick up macaroons for Tikki. And I ran into her and, well, she recognized me."

"Woah, Marinette knows what you look like?" He leaned into her space. "Even I don't know what you look like!"

"It's totally my fault." She put on a fake pout. "Back when I gave her the Mouse Miraculous, I had to approach her as a civilian. I tried to cover up my face with a hoodie and the biggest pair of shades I owned, but I guess enough of my face was still visible."

"Anyway." She leaned backwards on her arms. "Marinette must have noticed how fatigued I was that morning, because she pulled me aside and asked if I was okay. We talked for a little while, and during that conversation I realized that I was too harsh on her earlier. She _did_ save both of our kwamis, after all. So one thing lead to another and I granted her the Fox Miraculous."

"Which was an excellent choice, might I add!" Chat Noir said. His tail flicked excitedly. "Last night she tried out her power for the first time and made this gorgeous dress. It looked super realistic too! Oh man we're gonna have SO much fun fooling Akumas with illusions."

When he looked at Ladybug, he saw that her face didn't share his enthusiasm.

"Come on, Bug. It'll be fun, right?" He nudged her.

She shifted uncomfortably. "I, ah, hate to burst your bubble. But Marinette won't be joining us in battle," she admitted.

Chat Noir felt his heart sink. "Why not?"

"Right, so this time I want to handle our new recruits differently," she explained. "Currently, Hawk Moth thinks we have no more allies. Instead of bringing someone new to the team and throwing them into an Akuma fight immediately, I want to train up a number of new heroes in secret. Prep them before they join the action. That way, they can be ready for anything."

"Oh, I gotcha! Smart!" He punched his fist into his palm. "Do we have any other new trainees besides Marinette?"

"Not yet, no." She shook her head. "For now it's just her. I'm still trying to figure out her training schedule, though."

Chat Noir put a hand to his chin as if deeply contemplating the problem.

"She can join me on my solo patrols. We can spar while we parkour the city!"

Ladybug nodded. "That works."

"Great!" He lit up. "I have a lot I'd love to teach to Marinette."

"Oh really?" She giggled. "Like what?"

"For starters, picking a hero name."

"But... I thought you said you liked the sound of 'Vixenette'?" Ladybug looked offended.

"I do!" He raised his hands defensively. "But admittedly, it's kinda plain. She's 'Vixen Marinette'. Not much to it."

"Pfft, this coming from the guy who calls himself _Chat Noir?_ "

"Hey!" He put a hand to his chest as if wounded. "I didn't even have two seconds to think of that name. You're lucky it rolls off the tongue."

"Please, 'Vixenette' rolls off of the tongue plenty." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Yeah well-!" he started. Then his face flushed, and he backed down. "...alright, you win this one. I forgot what I was gonna say because of your cute face."

"Ha!" Ladybug pumped her fist in the air. "My face makes a compelling argument, doesn't it?"

"That it does," Chat Noir squeaked out.

After a pause, she rose, and he rose with her.

"So, patrol?" She gestured out to the cityscape.

"Yes! Patrol," he parroted.

And they took off.


End file.
